


Institutionalised Paradise

by Jadeleaf



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: POV Multiple, end of season 1, slight canon tweak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24488104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadeleaf/pseuds/Jadeleaf
Summary: After his psycho pass deteriorates, Akane aims to recruit Ginoza as an Enforcer.  However, she soon learns there may be reasons he won’t want to leave.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Institutionalised Paradise

Nobuchika’s eyes snapped open. Early morning light diffused from paper windows, partially lighting the room in a soft glow. Slowly, his breathing and heartrate slowed to a normal pace. It had only been a nightmare. 

He almost turned back over to sleep, burying himself in the covers, but melodic birdsong and the welcoming warmth from outside tempted him. Using his left arm to push himself from bed, Nobuchika almost collapsed when white-hot pain seared through. He flinched, but by then the pain was gone. He sat back and stared at his left arm, checking if anything was out of place that may have caused it. However, there was nothing, and when Nobuchika put weight on it again, all he could feel was his muscles adjusting as he pushed himself upstanding.

Nobuchika dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers (there was no black tie). Deft fingers fastened the last of the buttons on his shirt, leaving the top one undone. He stepped out onto the covered walkway. A wall of colourful flowers greeted him, the smells gradually hitting him with the soft breeze. Something nagged at him, though, and he almost jumped from the walkway to get a closer look, but another voice pulled him away.

“Nobuchika!”

Standing further along the covered walkway was a young woman. Light brown hair, tied in a ponytail, flowed over her shoulder and covered most of her breast. Her skin was pale, but not sickly, with soft pink lips that curved into a kind smile. Over her blouse and long skirt, she wore an apron, that she wiped her hands on as she approached him.

“Good morning. I was just about to wake you.”

Nobuchika found himself smiling, all of his worry forgotten. She leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Breakfast is ready.”

She took his hand and gently pulled him along to where a table of traditional Japanese food was laid before him. Nobuchika opened his mouth, but struggled to find the words.

“You’ve seemed stressed lately, so I thought I’d surprise you.”

She beamed up at him and Nobuchika felt his chest tighten.

“This is too much…” he began, but was cut off by her laughter.

“Of course it isn’t! Let’s eat!”

There was no point in protesting when she was like this. The doors were wide open, so they had a clear view of a small pond while they ate. Even from this distance he could see bright koi fish swimming under the waterlilies. Lotus were in bloom, their pale pink crowns on the water’s surface. They ate in companionable silence and Nobuchika struggled to remember the last time he had tasted food so flavourful and well-prepared.

When they finished, Nobuchika offered to wash the dishes, but she wouldn’t have it. Instead, they left the chore for later and took a long walk through the town. People passed by, but paid them no mind as the couple wandered through the streets. Cherry blossom danced through the air on the light breeze and it wasn’t long before they found a park lined with the trees. A gentle tug and he followed, both laughing as the blossoms fell around them. However, Nobuchika found himself unable to smile for long. Something wasn’t right.

“Nobuchika.”

He found himself drawn back to her, but the feeling that something was amiss didn’t completely go away. Nevertheless, he let himself be taken along. She smiled back at him every so often as they continued, checking he was still happy to continue. Every time he returned the smile, warmth spreading in his chest, and he wondered how he’d managed to find someone who cared for him above all else. Someone who would never leave.

They soon reached the beach, with its pretty seaside shops lining the street and facing the ocean. Nobuchika took in a deep breath of fresh air. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she pressed up against his side as they strolled down the seafront.

* * *

Akane rubbed her eyes. With only two members in Division One, their workload had increased exponentially. Aoyanagi was doing what she could to help, but had her own cases to worry about and Akane felt guilty every time she had to ask another question. She surveyed all the files and forms she was expected to fill in and her gut twisted in realisation that Ginoza did all this without saying a word to her.

“He wanted to give you time to settle in,” Aoyanagi reasoned, but it was cold comfort.

Ginoza had treated her like a burden, sneering at her naivety. Sitting behind the desk as lead Inspector, Akane couldn’t blame him. She tried to visit him earlier in the week, to apologise for not understanding him more, to ask if he would return, but the doctors had said he was still unstable. Work had piled up since, chaining her to the office.

“Inspector.”

Akane found her attention pulled to Kunizuka, who stood on the other side of her desk. A mug of floral tea was set in front of her, steam rising through the air like cigarette smoke, or a smouldering gun. The Enforcer eyed her superior with concern. Akane almost laughed. Kunizuka was normally so guarded, it was strange to see her with such an open expression. Or perhaps Akane had become better at reading her since _that day_.

“You should go home. The work will still be here in the morning.”

Akane shook her head. “I need to finish this report for the Bureau Chief.”

“You’ll probably finish it quicker if you get some rest."

The characters blurred in front of Akane’s eyes. She knew Kunizuka was right.

“How did Ginoza manage?” She looked up at Kunizuka, as if she could provide the answer.

“I think it’s evident he didn’t in the end,” she countered, but Akane disagreed.

“He was the lone Inspector for three years. He managed a full team of Enforcers.” The number of complaints he’d processed for Kougami and Kagari alone had been staggering. “I can barely keep up with two weeks’ worth of admin!”

There was a sigh. Kunizuka grabbed the nearest chair. She sat back and gave Akane a pointed look.

“Ginoza had over five years of experience by that point, plus he’s always been efficient with paperwork. You’re still learning the job.”

Insistently, she pushed the mug of tea towards her boss, who picked it up. The warmth was comforting. Akane was grateful for Kunizuka taking the time to speak with her. The therapist could only do so much to calm Akane’s feelings of inadequacy.

“I want to ask him to return as an Enforcer.”

Kunizuka neither dismissed her outright nor seemed particularly enthused. Akane gripped her mug tighter. It had never occurred to her that Kunizuka might not want him around.

“I think he’ll adjust well, if you can persuade him to come back.”

Akane leaned back in her chair, stunned. It had never occurred to her that he might prefer to remain in isolation.

“Inspector, have you ever visited an isolation facility?”

Akane remembered a man with full body tattoos behind a locked cage.

“Kougami took me once to speak with someone.”

“His psycho pass made him a target for lethal enforcement, correct?” Akane nodded. “They’re normally not given any chance of rehabilitation.”

Kunizuka folded her arms over her middle, hunching a little into herself and unable to meet Akane’s eyes. 

“Those of us who may have a chance at rehabilitation are treated differently.” Computer fans whirred. Akane waited patiently for her to continue. “We’re given a world where all our desires are met, that gradually guides us towards behaviours Sybil deems appropriate. To the person inside, it feels real. I’ve heard of people whose psycho passes recover, only to plunge themselves back into that fantasy world and waste away.”

A shiver crawled up Akane’s spine. “Would Ginoza be able to see Masaoka… and Kougami?”

Kunizuka shook her head. “I think they must have deemed real people too dangerous to copy. I never saw anyone I knew. Certainly not any latent criminals.”

Akane took a sip of her tea, unable to focus on anything.

“I thought I should warn you,” she finished, cutting through the silence.

Ginoza’s cactus still sat on the desk, a bud on its top threatening to bloom. Akane swallowed another mouthful of tea. Finally, she found Kunizuka’s eyes again.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

* * *

Nobuchika was beginning to notice a pattern as they continued to walk the streets with quant storefronts and surprisingly few people for such a beautiful town. Every time he noticed something a little out of place, the woman beside him would distract him with affection or another breath-taking sight. Despite spending the morning and most of the afternoon outside, he had yet to see a single scanner. The people they encountered were also strange, but Nobuchika had never been good at understanding any living thing that wasn’t a plant or a dog, so he was unable to figure out what bothered him so much.

“Nobuchika, over here.”

It was a shop with beds of balloon flowers lining the base of the building on either side of the door. Nobuchika was hit with the smell of baking bread as soon as they stepped past the threshold. In front of them, fresh baguettes had been carved up into delicious-looking sandwiches. Fruit tarts glistened like jewels further along the counter, visible behind glass, along with glazed pastries. They picked a sandwich each, plus a sweet pastry to share, and found a bench to sit on that overlooked the sea. An overhanging tree provided enough cover to keep them cool, with patches of light shifting across them as its leaves caught in the breeze.

Nobuchika watched the woman beside him eat. She obviously meant something to him, and yet he couldn’t remember her name. Why hadn’t it bothered him sooner? It only added to the odd things he had encountered since this morning.

He carefully watched her face as he spoke, keeping a close eye on every twitch in her expression. “Could you tell me your name?”

Instead of hurt or anger, she laughed as if Nobuchika had made a joke. She smiled at him, cheeks slightly rosy with warmth. “You know what it is!”

“Chiyo,” saying the first name that came to him.

Her fingers found their way into his hair and she held the back of his head as she leaned towards him. Lips pressed softly against his.

“I knew you remembered.”

Nobuchika frowned. He had just said the first name that came into his head. The breeze picked up a little, carrying the salty air. Any ill-feelings quietly slipped away as she leaned in again. Why was he concerned over something as trivial as a name? He closed his eyes as their lips touched again, ignoring the sudden light-headedness.

* * *

The doctor pulled the IV from Ginoza’s arm and then slowly removed the device that had been covering most of his head. He checked some numbers on the machine before addressing Akane.

“He’ll likely take some time to return.”

Before she could respond, he briskly left the room, leaving Akane stood awkwardly beside her former partner’s bed without a clue what to do next. Should she go and sit in the chair on the other side of the room until he stirred? Would the doctors come back before he awoke? 

The second question was quickly answered when she noticed Ginoza shift. His eyes fluttered open. Akane opened her mouth to say something, but the sound caught in her throat.

Without warning, Ginoza twisted towards Akane in some sort of aborted attempt to sit up. Without his left arm to stop him, he fell off the bed onto the tiled floor. Knees smacked the ground first. He retched, and what little had been in stomach ended up on the floor. Akane hovered close while he held himself up with a shaking arm, but he tipped to the left, having kept too much of his weight there. Without thinking, she braced herself under him, arms wrapping around his waist. She felt her shoe slip back a little, but not enough that she lost her balance. Sweat from Ginoza’s forehead was soaked up by her jacket as he rested his head on her shoulder. Akane tried to steady her breathing.

“Thank you.”

Tears pricked at her eyes. She couldn’t understand why he was thanking her when she had failed him as a partner. Slowly, though, they helped each other to their feet, despite Ginoza’s unsteady legs. She pulled him to the other side of the room where the stiff plastic chair was pushed up against a wall and sat him down. His chest heaved from the strain of walking the short distance and Akane felt anger flare within her. How dare they let him deteriorate like this! Slowly, she looked around for another chair, but was stopped from venturing out of the room by his weak grip.

“Stay… please.” His voice so quiet she barely heard him.

Akane kneeled in front of him and squeezed his hand. She looked up at his pale face, barely visible through his long hair, and tried not to flinch at how hollow his cheeks looked. Ginoza had been thin before, but over two weeks had allowed him to waste away further. Her knees ached, but she tried to ignore it as Ginoza attempted to cling to her.

Luckily, a member of staff passed by and, through some persuasion, brought her another chair. She sat to Ginoza’s left, but continued to hold his hand. Akane listened to his ragged breaths as a drone came into the room and cleaned up the mess on the floor.

“Sorry, Tsunemori.” Ginoza broke the silence and her heart. “You must have so much work to do and you’ve wasted time coming here.”

Akane couldn’t stop the sharp intake of breath at his words. Kunizuka’s warning echoed in her mind. She almost stood up and left right then, except his hand was still in hers and he had not tried to pull away. 

“Kunizuka has been helping me as much as possible. Inspector Aoyanagi, too.” Akane looked into his eyes, which were barely focussed on what was in front of him. “Why didn’t you tell me there was so much work?”

As soon as the words left her moth, she tensed, realising that her question sounded like an accusation. The last thing she wanted to do was to start a fight. However, Ginoza didn’t seem to notice, or he was too tired to do anything but answer honestly.

“Because you were a better detective than me. Making you do paperwork was a waste of talent.”

There was no change in his expression. No bitterness or malice. Somehow it gave Akane the courage she needed.

“I’d like you to come back as an Enforcer.”

Silence filled the room. Eventually, a message came in over the loudspeakers asking for a doctor to attend Room 26 in another part of the facility. She began to let go of his hand.

“Are you sure you want me?”

At first, Akane thought she’d imagined his question, but Ginoza’s eyes were suddenly watching her. His hand shifted, fingers grasping air as if he couldn’t decide whether to push her away or try to hold on.

“The doctors say your psycho pass has stabilised.” His attention shifted to the glass door. She gave him a moment to take in the number. “They said you’ll need to build up strength for a prosthetic, but the recovery time is short with current technology.”

There was a nod of acknowledgement, even as he continued to stare at the glass wall. 

“Will they put me back?”

At first, Akane thought he was referring to the Public Safety Bureau, but his attention had shifted towards the bed. Curiosity warred with her desire to give him what little privacy she could. The way Kunizuka described it, patients would have little desire to leave.

“You’ll be transferred to another area so you can focus on your rehabilitation.”

She watched him closely. His hand fell away from her and settled in his lap.

“Good. The flowers were wrong.”

Akane wasn’t sure what he meant, but was relieved he didn’t want to go back to that perfect world.

“I’ll come and visit when I’m able.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to,” she practically shouted over him.

Akane felt her face heat up, but kept her furious glare on him. He met it with a steely look of his own and for a moment they were back in Division One’s office with the Enforcers shifting nervously. He looked away first.

Suddenly, her wrist communicator beeped and Akane realised she needed to get back for her shift. She stood up quickly, flicking through her new messages to check whether she had missed anything important. She sighed in relief.

“Everything still in one piece?”

“Apparently,” she replied with a smile, already setting aside their blooming argument. Akane turned the screen off. “I’ll ask the facility to keep me up-to-date with your progress.” She faced him directly, straightening her shoulders. “I expect you to message me as well. Let me know if there’s anything I can bring you.”

“You don’t need to do that, Inspector.”

“Every additional day you spend in here is another day you could be helping Division One instead,” she said, appealing to his sense of logic. “Sacrificing a few hours of my time will be worth it, if it gets you back sooner.”

Akane wasn’t sure what reaction she was expecting. Maybe for him to get angry, to tell her she was foolish for worrying about him. Instead, he pushed himself up onto shaking legs and it took all of her willpower to stop herself rushing over to help. Back straight, he gave her a crisp salute.

“Understood Inspector.”

Akane wondered if she imagined his lips curving up at the edges, as he looked down at her through messy hair. She smiled and returned the salute regardless. Clearly, the effort had been a lot for him, because he quickly collapsed into the chair, which smacked against the wall as it tilted a little too far back.

“You should get some rest.”

She looked at him incredulously. “ _I_ need to rest?”

He chuckled, but there was little mirth in his tone. “You look tired. Is Kougami…”

“Gone,” she answered before he could finish the question. “Kunizuka and I are the only ones left.”

Ginoza nodded.

“I’m keeping Dime at my apartment.” She wanted to assuage any worries he had, and give him something else to return for. “I take him on a walk every day.”

“That must be troublesome.”

“Not at all! He’s very well behaved and it keeps me from cooping myself inside. I can see why he means so much to you.”

Kunizuka had mentioned his dog as soon as Akane was patched up. Dime had been a surprising bright spot in an otherwise hopeless couple of weeks.

“Thank you.”

“Get better soon, ok?”

Akane left the glass-fronted room and smiled as Ginoza waved until they could no longer see each other. She quickly made her way to the reception desk and put in an application to transfer Nobuchika Ginoza back to CID as soon as he was physically able.

**Author's Note:**

> Something's always nagged me about the isolation wards as they were shown. They seemed an imperfect combination of wasting resources without actually doing any good. This was my way of addressing it, so feedback would be welcome.
> 
> Cherry blossoms are a Spring flower, lotus bloom in Summer, and box flowers in Autumn. Ginoza really likes his plants.


End file.
